On Saturday 6th & Sunday the 7th of July the club held its annual summer tournament. Despite the wet weather the event was a massive success. We hosted over 160 teams, playing 449 games and scoring 649 goals with girl’s teams taking part in their own competitions for the first time in years. We raised key funds to enable the club and its volunteers to continue to provide football to our 435 players, next season and beyond.
This year the club had signed up as a community group supporting the Lions at Large campaign delivered by the Cheltenham and Gloucester Hospitals Charity who are raising funds for proposed new cancer care facilities in Cheltenham with digital consulting rooms, space for state-of-the-art research, as well as a therapeutic outside space.
The charity and one of the Lions, Zale, were with us over the weekend, resplendent in blue and gold matching the club colours. In the Summer of 2025, Lions at Large – The Pride of Gloucestershire Trail will be ‘roaring’ onto the streets of Cheltenham and Gloucester!
Over 30 large Lion sculptures will be designed and painted by local artists: celebrating Gloucestershire’s rich history, culture, and diversity. They will be joined by our Cub Club – a pride of little Lions lovingly created by local schools and community groups, such as Hardwicke Rangers.
Whilst we surpassed the minimum of £750 that guarantees our own Lion, we will be arranging events over the next 12 months to raise as much as we can.
We would like to thank all our players, parents, volunteers, sponsors, and the visiting teams for making the event a success. We would also like to thank the Village Hall Committee, Parish Council and the community for their support and patience over the weekend.
Hardwicke Rangers YFC
Lions At Large
